During his acceptance speech at his Airport Road campaign headquarters after 9 p.m., Avedisian said he won because he and his administration are responsive to the needs of Warwick residents.

“We truly try to look at what is important to the people of this city, to respond to their concerns, and to make sure that the future is bright and prosperous for everyone that we deal with on a daily basis.” Avedisian explained.

As results were reported following the 8 p.m. close of polls, Avedisian’s lead was clear after 35 percent, or 12 of 34, of precincts reporting. At 8:30 p.m., the state Board of Elections reported 3,901 for Avedisian to Corrente’s 2,170. By 10:30 p.m., with 100 percent of precincts reporting, Avedisian had 24,300 to Corrente’s 13,278, or 64.4 percent to 35.2 percent.

From there, Avedisian widened the margin, eventually racking up 65 percent to Corrente’s 35 percent by 9:30 p.m. with 94 percent of votes counted, according to the Board of Elections website.

“Being positive about the future always trumps being negative,” Avedisian said of his opponent, whom he congratulated for the effort he put into his campaign.

While the result was the same as the last seven general election contests, dating back to 2002, this year’s race was notable for Corrente’s nearly two-year-long campaign and more aggressive spending than all but one past opponent, reporting nearly $42,000 in loans to his campaign in the losing effort.

In 2002, Raleigh Jenkins spent $2,095 to secure 6,521 votes to Avedisian’s 24,922. Two years later, Michael Woods spent $99,000 — the highest total to date in campaigns against Avedisian — to ultimately lose 24,357 to 10,014.

In 2006, Donald Torres spent about $20,000 and finished behind Avedisian, 24,595 to 11,676. Democrat John T. “Jack” Kirby ran against Avedisian in the next four elections, losing each time: roughly 3-to-1 in 2008 and a little over 4-to-1 in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

Kirby spent less than $2,000 in each of those races, according to his campaign finance reports.

Avedisian first earned the post by defeating Woods in a special election held in 2000 following the death of the late U.S. Sen. John Chafee and appointment of then-Mayor Lincoln Chafee to the vacant seat by then-Gov. Lincoln Almond. Campaign finance reports for the 2000 election are not available on the Rhode Island Board of Elections campaign finance website.

That support continued despite the admitted lack of staffing and supervision that resulted in the drowning death of a six-year-old in City Park over the summer; denial of requests for public release of the Ragosta Report, which described a failure of school department officials to investigate reports of a teacher drawing sexually explicit pictures on students; and the belated release of the list of sidewalks required to be cleared under the city’s new shoveling ordinance.

The victory for Avedisian keeps him in the company of Rhode Island’s longest-serving mayors, including Ralph aRusso of Johnston [24 years], Vincent A. Cianci of Providence [21 years], Salvatore Mancini of North Providence [20 years], and James A. Doyle of Pawtucket [13 years].